Reading, writing ... poverty?

Niles district grappling with rise in indigent students.

Niles district grappling with rise in indigent students.

January 07, 2009|By CAROL DRAEGER Tribune Staff Writer

NILES -- Niles Community Schools is adding a "P" to its three R's. Poverty has become the new reality in the district of 3,900 students, which faces a sad new statistic: 52 percent of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That's up from 38 percent only five years ago, according to Superintendent Doug Law. "It's the sign of the times," he said referring to Michigan's high unemployment rate and large-scale job losses. The district is planning an impromptu in-service for teachers on Jan. 20 to talk about children who live in poverty and how to help them overcome challenges. The bottom line, Law said, is that one in two students can't afford to buy full-priced lunch. To qualify for free lunch, a family of four must earn $27,560 or less. A family with a maximum income of $39,220 qualifies for reduced-price lunches, said Erik Peterson, spokesperson with the School Nutrition Association of Alexandria, Va. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reimburses school districts $2.57 per meal for free lunches and $2.17 for reduced-price lunches with students paying 40 cents, Peterson said. Throughout the United States, more and more students are qualifying for free meals because of the souring economy, Peterson said. The mission behind the day-long training, according to Law, is to help the district's 260 teachers understand students who grow up in poverty. "Our hope is that once we have a better understanding of these students we will be able to develop practices that will help them succeed," Law said. The in-service will feature a guest speaker from Texas who will outline the work and theories of a noted authority on the subject Dr. Ruby Payne, who wrote the book "A Framework for Understanding Poverty." All of the district's teachers are currently reading the book, Law said. He is realistic about the seminar. "There is no magic answer in the workshop." Law called it "sensitivity training" that will focus on how children in poverty think about school, food, life and their families. The main objective is to figure how "best to help them achieve and succeed," he added. Law said he has read the book and it offers insights on children who live in poverty. He said for poor children food is about quantity or simply getting enough of it. For middle class students food may be an issue of quality. For upper class students, food may be about presentation. That may sound like an odd example but it is an illustration of how children in various economic groups think about a common denominator, such as food. The seminar, which is being paid for by a federal Title I grant, will begin about 8:30 a.m. at Niles High School. Law said the district has sponsored various in-service training in the past but this one is larger in scope and includes all teachers. During the past year, the issue of poverty surfaced in nearly all the district's schools when improvement groups met, Law said. "Kids in poverty kept coming up so we decided to do something about it together," he said. "It's clear this is an area we need to know more about." Staff writer Carol Draeger: cdraeger@sbtinfo.com (574) 807-2941